I just went to the basement and pulled out my George Sauer Jr. White Jets Jersey along with my 1965 made in Taiwan Green Jets sun glasses. I like to look back at the old Jets souvenirs every once in awhile. Last time was about 35 years ago. Favre would have loved Sauer he was the Boyd Dowler of the 60?s Jets for you lurking former Packer fans. The Jersey is pretty much grey, (I didn?t know you were supposed to separate whites) it has a huge tear on it from when I snagged it on the hot dog boiler at Shea back in December 69 before the Chiefs game (I worked for Harry M Stevens at the stadium back in 69 and 70). It still has some blood on it and the distinct musty smell of cold tired and lost after all these years. The Jets relinquished their championship to the Chiefs at Shea that dreadful cold day. That day wasn?t the day for Joe and the Jets and it was the beginning of the end of not just championships but the Jets of my youth, still clearly etched in my memory 39 years later. Little did I suspect on that grey December day that Namath?s body was hanging by a thread that I had already seen the best of him and outside of a few brief moments of brilliance he was essentially done. I watched almost every game since but the truth is it never was the same and by 82 in Miami, in the mud, after a glorious playoff run in the sun, the Jets had pretty much beat the fun out of it for me. Miami was the low point and I guess I was in a trance through the mid 90?s until Hess woke up and made the move to Parcells. I think it really was Parcells putting the old colors on the field again that reawakened my dormant love for the Jets again. It was the colors that first snapped me out of it. It was as if Namath, Biggs, Hill, Snell? were back? sort of. The Jets played some pretty good football on top of it. 98 was a great ride with Vinnie leading the way. 02 Chad made me a believer only to see the hated Raiders end the dream. O4 it was Curtis and the OL and D paving the way for a little unexpected run only to die at the hands of a mediocre kicker and a gutless Head Coach. 06 we had a young HC instill discipline and leadership and a few more wins on the old uniform. 06 was great but the truth was by the end of 04 Chad like Vinnie, Richard and Joe before him was out of miracles. His arm beaten into the ground by the Bills just didn?t have it anymore. 06 was fun but we all knew we were rebuilding the team and looking for the next leader of that future team. Here we are, season 43 of Jets Football (For Me). Brett Favre the former HOF Green Bay Packers legendary QB and current middle age Wrangler Spokesperson ready to lead the Jets out of the tunnel in Miami against the Chad Pennington lead, Bill Parcells managed, Miami Dolphins. Every New Yorker with a few bucks in their pocket ends up in Miami at some point, why not Bill and Chad? I always considered Miami the best above ground mausoleum in the country and if I?m lucky, like Chad and Bill, I will be laid to rest there. On the threshold of NJ Jets Season 2008 begs the question, are we an elite team vying for a first round bye, a home playoff second round game and a ticket to the AFC finals and onto SB glory, looting, car fires, rioting, ah the good times? Or are we the Daniel Snyder Washington Redskins a few hundred miles north on I-95? Rolling the dice in Free Agency, good but not great, in the game but not winning the big games? Last year I predicted the Pats would take a step back. I missed by a month. Last year I confidently predicted we would be a bad football team before the season. I was wrong we weren?t bad, we were awful. Chad wasn?t fooling anyone with his pop gun arm the OL was a disaster the D couldn?t stop anyone. We went from a smart, well coached, well conditioned team to a dumb, predictable, train wreck. The best thing that happened last season was the Giants beat the Pats in the SB. That tells you pretty much all you need to know about the 2007 NY Jets. It wasn?t all bad it forced management to drop the 50 year Super Bowl plan. We went out filled holes on both sides of the ball and got an elite talent at QB, maybe, if he isn?t done, if his heart is in it, if he holds up, if NYC doesn?t eat him alive? This year instead of being pushed around at the point of attack we push around. The O is no longer playing 15 yards to the hash marks in the passing game. When Favre looks at the safety the safety will know that 40 yards back and outside the hash mark is part of his responsibility. The back peddle coupled with an irregular heart beat will now be playing for the opposition defense. There isn?t much that separates 6 & 10 from 10 & 6 in this NFL. Dare I say 11and 5? I?m tempted to predict 12 and 4, but with Gholston likely a bust hmy:and Thomas looking more like Blair than the Jones we traded for, I?m sticking with 11 and 5. Normally for a dark-sider like me that?s a reach but after endless threads from Keep Chad and Clemens, Italian Seafood, Junc and Looking for DeWare, I finally put my green glasses on. Call me Mr. Sunshine, a homer and why not, Herm is a speck in the rear view mirror and Chad is being fit for a box in Miami. This season isn?t redemption it?s the Exorcist. It looks like Daniel Snyder, I mean Tannenbuam may have actually gotten the off season right. My dog may smell cat shit but I smell victory. We wanted Faneca we got him, we wanted Jenkins we got him, we wanted Pace we got him, we wanted Favre, we got him. We wanted 25K PSL?s by golly we got them. I won?t guarantee a SB victory at least not until SB week. I take my Jets traditions seriously. Time to end my trip down Jetsville memory lane. I?m heading out to the barbecue with Green Glasses on to throw my George Sauer Jr. AFL Jersey on the fire. It?s time to move on. I just ordered my authentic, made in China, Brett Favre NFL Jets White jersey, the one with the IV on the back. I got it on e-bay for $19.95. Eat your hearts out bitches.
^^^^So much better than Cimini or any of the other beat writers. This post belongs in the newspaper. I feel exactly the same way. I think it is still a bit to early to think that Gholston is a bust, but there has to be concern, no doubt. It has been about 10 years since I have had this much excitement before a Jets season. Enjoy the party!!!!! Please don't do in the Sauer jersey.
I've been waiting for this post from you since the first Trolling On A Sunday Afternoon thread, winston. You are the man. Above ground mausoleum, that is brilliant. :smile:
Winston...................thanks for the breath of fresh air. It certainly is a change of Calvin Pace to have an original, intelligent funny thread around here......................... You troll.
Nice job, WB. Am I right in thinking that these have become a start-of-season tradition for you? I didn't realize that you were also a veteran of the Harry M. Stevens corps at Shea. I worked there in 1971-1972: souvenirs for the Mets, and hot chocolate for the Jets. As to the prognosticating, I've said elsewhere that I could see anywhere from 7 to 11 wins for this team, depending on how everything falls (or doesn't fall) together. That led me to a specific prediction of 9 wins, but your optimism has convinced me to change it to 10-6. Don't make me regret that! And it's year 44 for me!
There is nothing I enjoy more on the site than a Winstonbiggs start the season thread. Awesome read, thanks for that.
There is nothing much for me to say except what has already been said & seconded, that was a very enjoyable, witty read. I'm impressed :up: For what it's worth, I went through the games and decided (based on the limited knowledge I have) that the likely median record is 10-6. That is with no upsets, and without factoring injuryt disasters (for this team or any of its main opponents like the Patsies or Bills), so if you figure those in (and they don't cancel out) that is probably anywhere from a 7 win to 12 win season, definitely within your margin of error.
I ended up getting a job with them to go to the World Series in 69. Worked the upper deck selling Peanuts for all three games. I used the ID to go to Jets games and usually didn't work the games but since I had to come early helped with the set ups.
That was an amazing piece of writing Winston. You evoked a lot of emotion in that post. A true Jet fan - I salute you.
Winston, that was an outstanding post and I can totally relate to your take on things. Watching jenkins throw the giants center to the ground like a rag doll symbolizes for me the difference in how this yr will unfold compared to last yr. You seem to be more realistic with your expectations than me but I think we could agree the jets are going to kick some ass this yr.
